


i've been waiting my whole life to know i wanted you

by AspenRoman



Series: tyzula one shots [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25117234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspenRoman/pseuds/AspenRoman
Summary: azula loved her, but ty lee still left.but ten years later, they meet again and everything changes.(or, how azula and ty lee always seem to come back to each other, all set to joji's song "wanted u")
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Series: tyzula one shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937983
Comments: 6
Kudos: 191





	i've been waiting my whole life to know i wanted you

**Author's Note:**

> technically a sequel to [this fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24782476)

_**Here I am, torn into a thousand shapes and folds, torn into a thousand ways, I know** _

When Azula sees Ty Lee at Mai and Zuko's wedding, she thinks that'll be the end of it, the last time they see each other. And as she runs away from the girl she once loved, she doesn't think Ty Lee will try to chase after her.   
  
She's wrong of course.

Because the next day at exactly 10am, she receives a text from an unknown number and instantly knows who it is. A billion emotions rush through her, and Azula has no idea how to handle any of them. She has been so closed off, so used to her own bubble, and she hates that Ty Lee only has to say a few words for all of her feelings to resurface. 

_**Fornicate inside your broken homes** _

Ozai dies a year before the wedding, but Azula and Zuko are still dealing with the aftermath. For Zuko, the man who had belittled him for the entierty of his life was gone, but blood was still blood. At the end of the day, he still has Mai by his side to comfort him. For Azula, Ozai might've been cruel, but he stood as the one who cared for her, she was her father's daughter. While their mother always preferred Zuko, Ozai had liked Azula the most. She basked in his praise, and now, he too was gone. She didn't know how to feel then and frankly still didn't.

In the present day, as Zuko and her stand in front of their childhood home she wonders how differently their lives would've turned out if things had been different, if Ursa had not left. She stares at the "sold" sign on their two-story home before she closes her eyes. Azula breathes in, tries to cement this moment in her mind, and then breathes out. She feels so, so alone even with her brother by her side. Then, her phone buzzes in her pocket and her eyes open.

"Who's texting you?" Zuko inquires, a teasing lift in his voice.

"Ty Lee," Azula tells him.

His smile falters a little, "Really?"

"She got my number from Mai," Azula stares at her phone as she types back a reply and is instantly met with words of encouragement and a flurry of emojis.

"Do you think it's going to work out?" Zuko says.

Azula pockets her phone and crosses her arms, "Truthfully, I don't have much trust invested. However, I am aware that I...well, I miss her. And I would rather have her as a friend then nothing at all."

"Get lunch with her, see how you feel then, text is one thing. Maybe it'll be different in person," Zuko suggests.

Azula hums in response but says nothing more as the two get into the car and leave their childhood home behind.

_**Before I throw a smile your way, no more** _

Ty Lee asks if she wants to grab lunch over the weekend.

And stupid, stupid Azula says yes.

Shit.

_**I can't tell if all my answers correlate at all, I'm telling you a thousand things I know** _

Azula chooses a cafe near her apartment, the familiar environment the only thing stopping her from having a full-blown anxiety attack. She arrives ten minutes early and picks at her nails while she waits. When fifteen minutes pass and Ty Lee is five minutes late, Azula's stomach sinks and she readies herself for disappointment.

Instead, Ty Lee bursts through the front door, a whirlwind of pink and apologies. Azula shrugs it off and lets Ty Lee hug her, and the golden-eyed girl cannot remember the last time being in someone's arms felt so right. They both order tea and Ty Lee adds a plethora of honey and milk to hers while Azula drinks hers plain. As they sit down, Ty Lee rambles on about this and that, the mundane details of her life in the past ten years.

"I joined the circus for a while," Ty Lee says, "I left my family when I was eighteen and made some money doing acrobatics."

"Yes, you're very flexible," Azula comments before she freezes as she realizes how suggestive her comment is.

Both girls look at one another and their cheeks flame, as if they're still nine-year-olds who think boys have cooties. Azula sips her tea and avoids eye contact and Ty Lee admits a nervous giggle before she jumps into another topic. And as she speaks, Azula finds herself hanging on every word. 

_**I've been missing a long time to know I had to move** _

"I don't like staying in places for too long," Ty Lee tells her over lunch, a thing that has quickly turned into a weekly ordeal, "I dunno, I never really liked being tied down."

Azula understands, well, she really doesn't, but at the same time she does. Ty Lee has always been a free spirit, always had her head in the clouds. And Azula pushes her re-emerging feelings back down, because there would be nothing crueler than clipping a bird's wings when she has just begun to fly.

"You've been here for a while," Azula comments, knowing that the grey-eyed girl had been crashing at Zuko's place for the past month and a half.

"I suppose, it doesn't feel all that long. It's good to see old friends," Ty Lee stirs her tea. 

"Do you know when you have to leave again?"

Ty Lee glances up at her, "No. I have all the time in the world right now."

Azula hesitantly smiles and Ty Lee smiles back, and the stupid moths in her stomach freak out. _Stupid Ty Lee and her stupid pretty face and her stupid stupid._

Love is stupid.

_**I've been waiting my whole life to know I wanted you** _

"So, have you dated anyone in the past few years?" Ty Lee draws out her sentence.

They're lounging in Azula's apartment, both a few glasses of wine in. As their conversations grew more and more personal, Azula didn't feel comfortable sharing so much of herself in public, so they opted for her place. It was either that or Zuko’s place and she didn't want her brother popping in in a private moment.

"Not really, I've been busy," Azula says nonchalantly.

 _Busy tearing at the seams,_ Azula thinks but doesn't dare say.

"I dated a few people, but no one really significant. Not like you," Ty Lee murmurs.

Azula's eyes snap up to meet hers, "What did you just say?"

"I have yet to date someone like you," Ty Lee leans forward, "someone so abrasive and so logical that it seems callous. Someone who thinks with her head more than her heart. Someone who can set my body on fire with just her eyes."

"You're leaving soon," is all Azula says.

"I know."

But Ty Lee kisses her and Azula melts into her.

_**Are you feeling me slowly? You can take your fucking time** _

They fall into one another, and the action is so comfortable and so foreign, like coming home after a long vacation. And as Ty Lee kisses down her navel, Azula wonders if she could ever love someone the way she loves Ty Lee.

Ty Lee kisses between her legs and Azula thinks there is no one like her in the entire universe.

_**And I promise I won't lie, we'll make it out alive** _

Their weekly lunches turn into weekly hookups and Azula doesn't complain, because she would rather have a part of Ty Lee than nothing at all. They don't talk about it, not really, but Azula is okay, really, even if Zuko looks worried every time she visits him.

_**I'm on trial, I'm not so good at hiding wholesome truths** _

"I am in love with you," Azula says to her, when the moon has started to fade from the sky and the sun has begun to rise.

"I know," Ty Lee says, but cuddles closer to her.

And if that is all she can get, Azula will take it.

"I'm scared," Ty Lee mutters.

"Of what?" 

"Of loving you."

She doesn't elaborate and Azula feels like Ty Lee has cut her heart into ribbons.

**_You see it on my face when I turn blue, so punish me, I'm hanging on your noose_ **

Ty Lee leaves, apparently to live in Omashu (a city across the ocean), but says goodbye this time and hugs Azula tightly, with promises of keeping in touch. They're not official and Azula knows Ty Lee is scared of commitment from the way she flits between places. So, she shuts her mouth and is as patient as she can be as Ty Lee moves away. Months pass of late night Facetime calls and texting for hours, but it's not enough and one night she explodes.

"Why can't you just be honest with yourself?" Azula snaps, "I am hopelessly in love with you and if it means nothing to you, fine, but you can't keep dragging me along like this and say nothing. I am in love with you and you are 4000 miles away and if you don't want to be with me, fine. But you have to choose, Ty Lee. I have given you as much time as I can. Please, come home to me."

"You want the truth? I love you, Azula, but I'm not done exploring, I'm not ready to settle down. I'm only twenty-five, I don't want to get married and whatnot now," Ty Lee argues.

"When did I ever say marriage?" Azula cries out, "I'm just asking you to be honest. I've been waiting for you my whole life Ty Lee, and you can't just leave and come back and leave again, and think nothing will happen. I can't survive off phone calls and texts, I haven't seen you in six months. And you know I would come see you, but you never want me to."

"When did I ever say that?" Ty Lee says, "I told you, I don't like staying in one place long and you've always loved stability. We wouldn't work, not now."

Azula exhales slowly while her hands shake, "Stop making excuses, stop trying to decide for the both of us. If you want me to come over there and stay with you, I will buy a ticket right now. But you can't keep stringing me along."

"I...just not right now. I'm not right for you," Ty Lee frowns.

Azula hangs up without another word.

_**So pull me up so I can breathe with you** _

Ty Lee texts her an elaborate apology the next day and Azula accepts it, because Zuko told her love is unconditional and so she's trying to follow his advice. They don't talk as much during the day, but Ty Lee still calls her every night and Azula always answers.

"I'll be good for you soon," Ty Lee tells her a week after their fight, "I promise. Just give me a little more time."

_**I know I've been missing a long time to know I had to move** _

Two months after their fight, Azula hears a random knock on her apartment door and opens it to see her girlfriend-not-girlfriend Ty Lee. The acrobat has a bouqet of flowers and one hand and Azula doesn't hesitate before she pulls her in for a hug.

"I'm back," Ty Lee says into her neck as Azula holds her.

"Don't leave me again," Azula commands.

Ty Lee laughs, "Never, Princess. I'm here for good."

"Did you get everything settled?" Azula pulls back.

"Yeah, I had to talk with my family. We haven't talked in almost five years so I wanted to get everything figured out before I tried to have anything real with you," Ty Lee nervously rubs the back of her neck, "I mean, that is if you still want me."

"Do you love me?" Azula asks.

"Yes," Ty Lee says without hesitation.

"Then come here dumb ass."

**_I've been waiting my whole life to know I wanted you_ **

It took over two decades for them to get here, sharing an apartment in Caldera and learning to live with each other. Their love is complicated and it's not perfect, they struggle to say the right things at the right times, but they try. And as Ty Lee nuzzles her in her sleep, Azula wouldn't have it any other way. 


End file.
